The New York Lizards host the Florida Launch tonight and will be looking to keep their clean sheet at home, the Lizards are 4-0 at Shuart Stadium this season. The last time these teams met in Week 6, happens to be the last victory for the Launch. The Launch jumped out to an early three-goal lead in the first quarter and never capitulated.
The Launch are 4-1 this year in games they lead after the first quarter. Chris Mattes continues to give the Launch plenty of opportunity at the faceoff X; Chris is 118-for-239, good enough for 50 percent. Greg Gurenlian is having more success at the X, sitting at 140-for-233. Greg will be representing Team USA in the World games.
The Launch will be looking to bounce back from the beat down Chesapeake gave them last Saturday, in particular, Joe Walters, Joe had a season high high points and torched the Florida defense every chance he got. Florida carries a three game losing streak into New York, and if they want any chance of staying in the playoff race, they’ll have to win tonight. Led by Casey Powell (41 Points) and Kieran McArdle, (25 Points) Florida will need to take control of this game early and play for 60 minutes.
Garrett Thul returns to the lineup for Florida, Thul missed last game vs the Bayhawks for personal reasons. Which is a good sign for the Launch, they struggled last weekend to get anything going from the midfield. Thul should help alleviate some of the pressure on the attack with his massive presence.
The Launch sit in a three-way tie for fourth place, with Boston and Charlotte. With two match-ups against the Cannons left this season, after traveling to Denver, the Launch need to help themselves now and get back to .500. You can tune into this match-up tonight on ESPN3, at 7:30 to watch the New York Lizards (5-4) take on the Florida Launch (4-5) from Hempstead, New York.
